JAPAN

Fewer University Grads Find Jobs: Fewer university graduates have found jobs this year because of the economic slowdown. The Education Ministry said 350,000 of the 438,000 who graduated in the spring entered the job market. Some 79.7% of male graduates found work, down 0.4% from 1991 and the first decline in five years. Some 80.4% of female graduates found work. That was a 1.4 percentage point decline from the previous year and the first drop in 16 years. The ministry said graduates seeking jobs in manufacturing, services and sales were the most successful. There were fewer jobs in the depressed areas of finance and real estate.